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Colorado marijuana task force recommends allowing pot tourism

Members of a task force proposing regulations for recreational marijuana in Colorado approved recommendations Tuesday that would allow for marijuana tourism but block out-of-state pot shop owners.

The Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force voted to allow people from outside of Colorado to shop in forthcoming retail marijuana stores, although the amount they could purchase at any one store would be limited.

The goal is to prevent "smurfing," which would occur when one person goes from store-to-store accumulating marijuana to then sell into the black market. The thinking is that lowering the amount of marijuana an out-of-stater could buy in any one store would make smurfing too time-consuming to be worthwhile.

The task force also approved recommendations that recreational marijuana stores only be owned by Colorado residents. People would have to live in the state for two years to be considered residents.